Long Beach & Destination Photographer

Griffith Observatory Engagement Session | Riar & Jordan

John — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 07:02:19 +0000

Last week I met up with Riar and Jordan at the Griffith Observatory, to shoot their engagement session. I’ve never been to the observatory and it was fun taking pictures all over the property. Here are some of my favorites…

Loyola Marymount University | Ritz Carlton Marina Del Rey Wedding

John — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 05:38:53 +0000

Once again, my friend Brian Hamilton asked me to help him out for another wedding. I was tasked to hang out with the groom, Randy and the rest of the boys. At most weddings, it’s the groom and groomsmen that are not really into the picture taking. They just want to get the day going and party at night. But sometimes you get the guys who just like to play around when it comes to the photo ops. They’ll do anything for a funny picture. It was tough to get one serious shot. The guys were really fun to work with though. The ceremony was held at the Chapel of the Sacred Heart at Loyola Marymount University (No relation, but I wish). The chapel has such great architecture. Then it was on to the Ritz in Marina Del Rey for the reception, along with a beautiful sunset view.

Portfolio Shoot | Tini Grey

John — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 07:14:51 +0000

Last week I did a photo shoot with my good friend Tini Grey (pronounced Tin E.) He is the owner of Isle Entertainment, a Polynesian entertainment company based out of Orange County. I first met Tini and his wife Angie a few years back at my cousin’s wedding in Hawaii. At the reception, Tini and Angie did a nice hula performance for my cousin. His voice was just amazing. So I asked him if he would sing for my wifey when we return to Hawaii for our wedding anniversary. Now that Tini and his family live here Southern California, he’s been singing at all of our family weddings. I think we are at 6 family weddings and counting. You can check out Tini at the Mai Tai Bar in Long Beach on Fridays from 5-8pm.

Tini is currently working on his first solo album and he asked me to do some of his headshots. Here are some samples from a couple of photo shoots we did together.

He also allowed me to post one of his new upcoming songs. Take a listen and press play. If you want to hear more samples of his great voice, check him out at Gigmasters.

Like 4:00am

Book Tini for your next event. Here’s how to get in touch with him…

www.tinigrey.com

www.isleentertainment.com

www.gigmasters.com/acousticguitar/tinigrey

Hilton Waterfront | Huntington Beach Wedding

John — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 01:16:48 +0000

A few weeks back I had the privilege to shoot with my friend Brian Hamilton. It was a nice family wedding at the Hilton in Huntington Beach. The wedding was also the same day as the Surf Competition and the streets were pretty busy with traffic. But the wedding was beautiful as always.

Ice Cube | Nokia Theatre L.A. Live

John — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 17:36:45 +0000

This past Saturday, I shot another concert hosted by 93.5 KDAY. Closing the night was Ice Cube, one of my favorite Hip-Hop artists. Today was a good day…

The Reef Long Beach | Lei & Pierre

John — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 17:27:06 +0000

The 2nd half of my back to back Labor day wedding weekend was for a my long time family friends Lei and Pierre. I’ve known Lei and her family since I was in high school. I also shot her sister’s wedding last year. Originally Lei’s wedding date was set for Saturday the 4th, but I was already booked. So she changed her wedding date just for me. I was really honored that she would plan her wedding day around my schedule. For the getting ready and the intimate couple shots, we went back to the Hotel Maya next door to the Reef. The hotel has so many spots to take some great photos. I even found a few new places to shoot in the hotel that didn’t see the last time I was there. Here are some of my favorites from that day.

Ritz Carlton Laguna Niguel Wedding | Mary & Ron

John — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 05:59:17 +0000

Labor day weekend was a fun and busy time with two back to back weddings. The first wedding was Mary and Ron. A really nice and down to earth couple. Mary was just giggling all day and Ron did a pretty good job not blinking too much. The ceremony took place at St. Edward the Confessor Catholic Church in Dana Point. Then, the wedding party were taken away in style, riding in classic Rolls Royces and Bentleys. The reception was held at the Ritz Carlton in Laguna Niguel, where the guests were entertained by many different musical acts. From a Blues guitarist, a lounge singer, an 80′s cover band, a Mariachi band, and Elvis himself. Guests were also treated to an ice cream station and a cappuccino and cigar bar.

Thanks again to my partner in crime Charla Blue Brummel, for helping me out on this long 12 hour day.

Friday Favorites | The Zoo

John — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 07:11:33 +0000

A few months back I took the family to the San Diego Wild Animal Park. It was the very first time that I’ve ever been to the zoo. So I just wanted to share a few of my favorites from that day.

Wedding & Engagement Albums | Leather Craftsmen

John — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 15:58:30 +0000

I use Leather Craftsmen as my album company of choice. They do an awesome job with my albums and they have great customer service. Anytime there is an issue with one of my album orders, I’m always getting a phone call from the LC West staff, letting me know if I need to make a quick fix or just to confirm something on the album. I even had an opportunity to tour the facility and got to see first hand on how they make their albums. Very Impressive. The albums are solid, look great and sometimes heavy. Even though Leather Craftsmen is well known for their leather cover albums and the many album options to go along with the decision making, half of the album covers that I use is the Japanese cloth style. It’s very popular with my clients and they like the look and feel of the silk type cover.

The first album is an Engagement Book. It’s the 8500 Signature Edition album. The pages are a mix of traditional matted and hingeless flush pages. It has a two tone cover of a brown spine and a sage body. This is my sample album I show to my clients. So please excuse the wear & tear. It’s been getting a little beat up.

The second album, is one I just delivered to my clients, right after I took these shots. This album is the 300 Hingeless Series. The spine is a taupe color with a marine body. This is the main album I sell to my clients and it’s usually a 12×12 size. I really like the rounded corners and the hubs that are put on the spine to give it that extra special look.

Newport Beach Engagement Session | Mary & Ron

John — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 20:12:56 +0000

Just another fun and hot weekend engagement session with Mary and Ron, who are set to get married on September 4th. For Mary and Ron’s engagement session, we headed out to Corona Del Mar Beach. It was a workout just getting to a spot away from the beach crowd. The heat didn’t help much either, but we got some great shots. After sweating for 30 minutes, we then headed to “The Wedge” in Newport Beach. A popular surf spot that I used to ride back in the day. It was a lot cooler and the crowds were heading home. Mary and Ron were fun to work with and I can’t wait for their wedding. It’s going to be another fun day.